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Today in White Sox History: February 7

The end of the line for Magglio

By Mark Liptak
Braves v White Sox
General manager Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox (2nd-R) talks with injured star Maggilo Ordoñez (C) in the outfield patio deck area where the two sat with fans and watched the White Sox take on the Atlanta Braves on June 13, 2004 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. The White Sox defeated the Braves, 10-3.
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

2005

After one of the more acrimonious disputes in team history, free agent and four-time All-Star Magglio Ordoñez signed with the Detroit Tigers.

Ordoñez engaged Sox management in a war of words over how he was treated, the contract offered to him, and his health status. Magglio’s agent, Scott Boras, refused to turn over medical information, which infuriated GM Ken Williams and basically sealed Ordoñez’s fate. Additionally, manager Ozzie Guillén publicly called out Ordoñez in no uncertain terms over the contract situation. Considering the severity of Ordoñez’s knee injury — which required a secret trip to Austria for experimental surgery — it was hard to blame the Sox for their stance.

Ordoñez played with the team for six full seasons and parts of two others, with 187 home runs and 702 RBIs. In his full seasons, Ordoñez never hit worse than .282, and in five of those years he hit better than .300.

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